Generally, a device that discharges objects such as a beverage, ice, etc., is called a dispenser. Recently, the dispenser has become widely used in refrigerators. FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a refrigerator 100 having a dispenser 105. As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerator 100 comprises a main cabinet 1 partitioned into a refrigerating compartment and a freezing compartment, having front openings, and a refrigerating compartment door 2 and a freezing compartment door 3 opening/closing the respective front openings of the refrigerating and freezing compartments. The freezing compartment door 3 is provided with the dispenser 105, including a discharging lever 4 to be operated for obtaining ice made inside the freezing compartment.
A conventional dispenser includes a motor employed in discharging ice, a switching part to be turned on/off by the discharging lever 4, and a controller to control the motor to operate or stop according to the on or off state of the switching part.
The dispenser also includes a discharging shutter provided in the freezing compartment door 3, to selectively expose and cover a discharging hole through which the ice is discharged. The discharging shutter is opened in response to the activation of the discharging lever 4. Opening of the discharging shutter may be physically interlocked with the rotation of the discharging lever 4, and closing of the discharging shutter is electrically controlled by the controller. The controller may control a valve relay, and thus operate a solenoid valve, thereby causing the discharging shutter to cover the discharging hole once, for example, five seconds have passed since the switching part is turned off.
In the conventional dispenser, the rotation of the discharging lever 4 causes both the switching part, for operating the motor, and the discharging shutter to be simultaneously turned on and opened, respectively. However, it is possible that the switching part may not be turned on as the discharging lever is rotated, even though the discharging shutter is opened. In this case, the controller cannot operate the solenoid valve because no indication of the subsequent off state of the switching part is sent to the controller. Therefore, the discharging shutter does not cover the discharging hole, which allows frost to be deposited around the discharging hole.
Conversely, it is possible that the discharging shutter is not completely opened though the switching part is turned on as the discharging lever 4 is rotated. In this case, the controller senses the on state of the switching part and controls the motor to push the ice toward the discharging hole, but the ice is blocked by the discharging shutter, thereby allowing frost to be deposited around the discharging hole.
Accordingly, in some conventional examples, the motor is activated after a predetermined period has elapsed from the start of opening the discharging shutter. Additional and/or alternative a switch may be activated once the discharging shutter reaches its open state, and activation of the motor begins following activation of the switch.